Violence mounts in Bangladesh ahead of verdict in Hasina trial

Tension simmered across Bangladesh on Wednesday (November 12, 2025) as crude bomb and arson attacks rocked Dhaka and other parts of the country ahead of a special tribunal’s announcement of the verdict date against deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Unidentified assailants set fire to a branch office of Muhammad Yunus-founded Grameen Bank in eastern Brahmanbaria early in the day. Later, an abandoned railway carriage was torched at Dhaka railway station amid a series of low-intensity blasts across the capital.

Though no casualties were reported, several buses were set ablaze while crude bombs exploded at Dhaka University and other parts of the city. The violence comes ahead of Thursday’s (November 13) planned “Dhaka Lockdown” called by Hasina’s now-disbanded Awami League, coinciding with the tribunal’s announcement.